Handheld wireless communication devices are becoming multi-modal communication devices. These handheld devices are often hybrid devices which can communicate on a cellular network or on a wireless network, for example, a WiFi network. Wireless networks are often encrypted for security purposes. Encrypted networks often require an encryption key (e.g. WEP key) and an authentication process for the network to authenticate the device (or client) before the device is allowed to be connected to the network.
In the authentication process, a password is often encrypted and the encrypted version of the password is applied to an authentication protocol which is sent to the network for verification. A user is often required to specify the type of encryption for the password before the authentication process is initiated. Without the proper type of encryption, the authentication process will fail. Having to type a password multiple times using a mobile handheld device is inconvenient for the user. Furthermore, a user often does not know the type of encryption that is necessary to encrypt the password.